May 22, 2012
Tokyo Skytree (東京スカイツリー) opened to the public.
It is the tallest tower in the world (634m) and the second tallest man-made structure on earth, after Burj Khalifa (829.8m).
Today is
Sherlock Holmes Day
Why today?
Because May 22 is the birthday of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes.
Everyone begins reading Holms from this story; it was the very first story the author wrote and published in 1887.
Do you like Whodunit movies, detective novels, or mysteries?
Who is your favorite author? Please leave a comment.
May 22, 1885
Victor Hugo, the French poet, novelist, essayist, and playwright, died at age 83.
His best-known works are The Hunchback of Notre Dame(1831) and Les Misérables(1862).
Where to start
if you want to read Hugo?
I recommend Les Misérables.
Read the French version if you can, but if French is above your head, read the English translation.
Which English translation version
should you read?
There are eight English translations of Les Miserables, listed below in chronological order.
1862 – Charles E. Wilbour
1862 – Lascelles Wraxall
1863 – Wilbour revised by A.F.
1887 – Isabel Florence Hapgood
1976 – Norman Denny
1987 – Wilbour revised by Lee Fahnestock and Norman MacAfee
2007 – Julie Rose
2013 – Christine Donougher
*https://welovetranslations.com/2021/07/29/whats-the-best-translation-of-les-miserables/
The version I read is Norman Denny's 1976 translation.
You can try the 2013 version translated by Christine Donougher.
有一句流传甚广的雨果名言：“世界上最宽阔的是海洋，比海洋更宽阔的是天空，比天空更宽阔的是人的胸怀。”我不知道汉译者是谁，但对照英文译文来看，似乎也是一种转译。窃以为，这个翻译值得商榷。于是，后学不才，也斗胆翻译了一下这句话。
There is one spectacle grander than the sea, that is the sky; there is one spectacle grander than the sky, that is the interior of the soul. - Victor Hugo, Les Misérables
有一个景象比大海更广阔，是天空；有一个奇观比天空更无垠，是我们内在之灵魂。- 佛老 译